A Degree Beyond By Kirsten Shaw
D
r. Greg Bott is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama, where his primary teaching and research focus is cybersecurity. He teaches Applied Cybersecurity and Data Acquisition using Python. Before entering the PhD program, he worked for Microsoft Corporation as a Program Manager dealing with collaboration applications, then served as Chief Technology Officer for INC2inc, Dairy, LLC and Ideal Software Systems. While at Ideal, he also taught information systems courses at MSU-Meridian and discovered a passion for academia that led to the MSU PhD program.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
14114 4
“The professors involved in the doctoral program are deeply committed to preparing their students to be well-equipped to produce high-quality, rigorous research,” Bott shares. “A key aspect is that they are highly productive in the research community. Everyone I graduated with from MSU is doing solid research in information systems and information security.”
M I S S I S S I P P I STAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
|
Bott’s dissertation focuses on privacy issues in the context of smartphones.
DR. GREGORY J. BOTT Business Information Systems Columbia, MO BA, Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis, 1989 MSc, Engineering (Software Engineering), University of Texas, 2006 PhD, Information Systems (Cybersecurity), Mississippi State University, 2017 Dissertation Chair: Dr. Merrill Warkentin Photos by Jaclyn Head and Beth Wynn
“Smartphone users reveal a great deal of personal information on their smartphones, and the traditional explanation is that they do so because of a deliberate evaluation of risk vs. benefit,” he says. “My dissertation challenges that assumption and introduces the idea of privacy resignation as a reason for disclosure of personal information. The ‘real world’ impact of this will hopefully be reflected in policies and regulations that protect the user from unfair data collection.” As an educator, Bott’s approach employs a variety of instruction methods because he understands students do not all learn in the same manner. “As much as possible, I incorporate ‘doing,’ hence the ‘applied’ portion of my Applied Cybersecurity course,” he notes. “I was provided multiple opportunities to teach MSU students and to observe my professors teaching their courses. MSU professors have a passion for their students, and that was passed on to me.” At Alabama, Bott serves on the Master’s and PhD committees. He enjoys doing information security research and also hopes to contribute to the effort to stop human trafficking by participating in research in that area. There is one aspect of his work that he finds the most rewarding, however. “My students are very important to me,” he states. “One of my goals is to prepare them as much as possible for their futures. I enjoy helping them gain the understanding, concepts and skills necessary to succeed.” Outside his academic pursuits, Bott is also a certified digital forensic examiner and expert witness.
DIVIDENDS
|
FA L L 2 0 1 9
